Databases

Grove Music Online: Comprises the full text of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London, 2001), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, edited by Stanley Sadie (London, 1992), and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, second edition, edited by Barry Kernfeld (London, 2002).

Journals and Magazines

To find a specific journal or magazine:

Click the Find Journals/eJournals tab on the Library website. Search or browse by journal or magazine title, or browse by subject in [].

To find magazines and journals in print at the library, search the CUNY+ catalog.

If you need an article from a magazine or journal at another library, request it through Interlibrary Loan.

Reference Resources

The library has many reference books like encyclopedias, dictionaries and atlases that are useful for music research. You can search for reference books by keyword or subject in the library catalog.

Print reference books are located on the shelves behind the Reference Desk on the 4th floor of the library. Print reference books can only be used in the library.

Many of our reference books are available electronically (ebooks) -- read them by clicking through the links in the library catalog. For off-campus access to ebooks, login with library number on the front of your ID. For more information or to report a problem, see Off-campus Access on the Library website.

Here are a few popular reference books for music:

Career opportunities in the music industry

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML3795

The complete book of classical music

CALL NUMBER: Reference - MT6

Concise encyclopedia of Jewish music

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML106.J49

Cuban music from A to Z / Helio Orovio

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML106 .C8

Dictionary of music

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML100

Encyclopedia of the blues

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML102.B6

The encyclopedia of the music business

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML102.M85

Hip hoptionary: the dictionary of hip-hop terminology

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML3531

Larousse encyclopedia of music

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML160

The latin music handbook

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML156.4.L3

Music of the whole earth

CALL NUMBER: Reference - MT6.R273

The new Grove dictionary of music and musicians

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML 100

The Oxford companion to music

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML100

The Oxford history of western music

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML160 .T18

Rap music in the 1980s : a reference guide

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML128

The Rolling Stone encyclopedia of rock & roll

CALL NUMBER: Reference - ML102 .R6

Source book of African and Afro-American materials for music educators

Finding Books and More in the Library

To find books at other CUNY libraries, select All CUNY Libraries. To request a book from another CUNY library, click Request a Copy.

Searching with Subject Headings

Using subject headings to search the library catalog can help you quickly find useful books and multimedia. Once you have found a book on your research topic, click on the Subjects links to find more books on that topic.

You can also search by subject from the Find Books tab on the Library website. Here's a sample of relevant subject headings for music research:

MUSIC -- AFRICA

MUSIC -- AMERICA

MUSIC -- 20TH CENTURY -- HISTORY AND CRITICISM

Internet Resources

Library of Congress American Memory/Music Collections: American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity.

Essentials of Music: "Whether you are a casual listener or serious student of music this comprehensive Internet resource provides access to nearly 200 musical excerpts from any location within the site."

Internet Underground Music Archive: The IUMA mission is simple - for every artist with a record deal, on FM radio, or in Tower Records - there are a thousand talented artists chasing that dream and a million new music fans who will never get to hear their music. We're changing all that - bringing these artists and fans together, getting the music out and giving new music fans a cool new way to discover new music.

Classical.net: Classical Net features more than 3400 CD/SACD/DVD/Book reviews, as well as 6000 files and over 4000 links to other classical music web sites.

World Music Institute: World Music Institute is a not-for-profit concert presenting organization dedicated to the research and presentation of the finest in traditional and contemporary music and dance from around the world. WMI supports and encourages musicians from immigrant communities and collaborates with universities, cultural organizations, and other presenting organizations that have similar goals.

Multimedia Resources

Multimedia Resources are available for musical instruction. The library has some 3,000 audio recordings in LP, cassette and CD formats in genres ranging from classical to jazz to rock. All audio materials are available for borrowing and can also be played in the Multimedia Center. Selected video titles are listed below. Faculty may borrow videos to enhance classroom instruction; students may view videos in the library's Multimedia Resources Center (A431).